Monthly Archives

August 2016

Dinner, Lunch

Pesto di Noce (Walnut Pesto)

I have a glut of basil this ear. Seriously, I am overrun. The plants come up to my waist and they are thick with delicious basil leaves. There are a number of different sorts, but mostly it is your standard Italian sweet basil. And lots of it.

So what does one do with a glut of basil? Make pesto of course. I have made lots and lots of Pesto alla Genovese (the standard green stuff that one thinks of first when one hears ‘pesto’). It freezes very well so my I am well stocked for a while. So I thought that I would make this Pesto di Noce (Walnut Pesto). It’s not as pretty as it’s Genovese cousin (for starters, it’s brownish, despite 2 cups of basil leaves in it), but it of so amazingly yummy. Pair it with giant ravioli and a few more walnuts and you have an amazing dinner (or lunch, in my case).
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30. August 2016
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Blueberry Pie with Buttermilk, Lemon and Ginger

There must be a dozen blueberry pie recipes on this here site. Overall, I am guessing there must be at least 50 blueberry recipes in general, but given how much I love them, this isn’t a surprise. Each time I make a new pie, I do a little bit of a twist, whether it be “warm spices” (cinnamon, clove), or with a crumble top, etc. This time I went for a bit of a tart twist, with buttermilk, lemon and ginger. Quite lovely and fresh.
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29. August 2016
Dinner, Pasta

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

So since the earthquake in the Amatricia region of Italy last week, I’ve had Italy on the brain. And while it is somewhat absurd in the middle of a natural disaster, one of the first things that I thought of was Bucatini all’Amatriciana… somehow planted in my brain was this is the signature dish from that area of Italy. It’s very popular, very easy to make and taste amazing.
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27. August 2016
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Rosemary and Pignoli Chocolate Cookies

I’m on a bit of an Italy kick. Or rather, an Italian-esque foodie kick. More on that coming up, but I was trying to think of a cookie that was sort of Italian. There are of course Florentines and Biscotti and Baci di Dame, but I thought I would make up a new recipe. I came up with these chocolate cookies with toasted pine nuts (pignoli) and rosemary. I know, I know, it might sound a little strange but they actually turned out really really well. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming and the pine nuts are lightly crunchy. They are also really easy to make. Enjoy!
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26. August 2016
General Reference/Tutorial

Roasted Mango Ghost Pepper Barbecue Sauce

Ghost Peppers. Jolokia chiles. Hot. Very Hot. Apparently some of the hottest edible chiles around. I’d been talking with someone about a year back so when I saw starter seedlings at the garden shop this spring, I decided to buy some. Thing is though: I now have about 40 ghost peppers. I’ve drying most of them, to grind for chili (it anyone wants some dried, let me know), but I decided to make this BBQ sauce too. It’s not all that hot, balanced by the sweetness of the roasted mangoes, actually. Definitely more of a chicken or veggie glaze than ribs or steak. Very tasty and the spicy kick gets you at the end.
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24. August 2016